June 2019 Writing Challenge: Sailor Moon
by Veritas Found
Summary: Six ficlets written for a writing challenge, in which: Rei has a Jealous Ex; Mamoru needs help Proposing; Makoto meets Five Million Joneses (in two parts); and Zane has a Drinking Problem (also in two parts).
1. 02 June 2019

**Disclaimer:** All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Note:** These were written in a notebook as a writing challenge for June 2019. The goal was thirty days, thirty prompts, thirty minutes (which is why some might seem abrupt: time limit). I'd hit a bit of a dry patch and just wanted to write. These are unedited and mostly just fluff pieces, but I really enjoyed some of them and hey: what's the point of fic if you don't share, right? Even if it's goofball trash.

**02 June 2019**

_**Prompt: **__Everyone Should_

_**Fandom: **__Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon_

_**Character/Pairing:**__ Rei/Jadeite, slight Yuuichirou/Rei_

_**Rating:**__ K+ / PG / All Ages_

_**Notes:**__ The trouble between "Zane, Ami, and Hideki" references 10x12 Prompted ch27 ("A Promise I Made to Stay…")._

"Everyone should just mind their own damn business!"

By this point in their relationship, Joji knew better than to say anything and just let the hotheaded priestess rant. He knew that saying how cute he found her righteous indignation would most likely land him (another) black eye. So, really, it was only self-preservation when he remained silent and allowed her to continue dabbing at his injured face.

The smirk – smile! – may have been a bit much, though.

"_What?_" she huffed, glaring at _him_ for a moment instead of just the bruised skin around his eye.

"Nothing," he said with an easy-going smile. "It's just cute seeing you all riled up over defending my honor."

"Your…!"

Ah.

There it was.

"Christ, Rei!" he cried, clutching at his (previously) good eye. In the back of his mind, a voice that sounded suspiciously like Zane's cackled over how at least now he had a matching set. He lowered his hand to find she was fuming, and despite the pain he was still smiling. Yes, two black eyes – but definitely worth it.

"It just pisses me off! Who does he think he is?! If anyone's going to be giving you black eyes, it's me!" she huffed.

"I think you just did," he said, gesturing to the side of his face she hadn't been fussing over.

"Exactly!" she cried. She had the decency to wince at the pointed look he gave her. "I mean…sorry."

"Look, I can't really blame him," he finally sighed. He took the bag of frozen peas from her and dropped it on his eyes, wincing as he tipped his head back. "Misguided as it was, his heart was in the right place. He was just looking out for you."

"He was acting like a jealous ex, and I can take care of myself!" she snapped. He lifted the corner of the peas to give her what he hoped was a sardonic look. Given the state of things, however, he wasn't really confident in his ability to convey the right amount of…sardon. Sardony? Sardonic-ness.

"He _is_ a jealous ex," he pointed out, giving up on his internal word debate, and she rolled her eyes before pressing the bag back down.

"We went on two dates before deciding we were better off friends. He is _not_ a jealous ex," she huffed. He blindly reached out for her hand, giving it a squeeze when she grabbed his own.

"_You_ decided you were better off friends. A decision I am eternally grateful for," he added, thinking of the mess between Zane, Ami, and Hideki. "But I think he still cares. He's loved you long enough. I'd almost be disappointed if he didn't."

"Yuuichirou is like a brother to me," she said softly. He could hear the guilt in her voice, though. Just enough to let him know he was getting through.

"And brothers defend their sister's honor, even if their sister is perfectly capable of defending her own honor," he said. His lips quirked into a smile when she pressed a kiss against them.

"I'm still going to kill my father for convincing him you were a stalker," she grumbled, and he laughed as she settled against him, resting her head on his chest.

"Now that," he chuckled, running his fingers through her hair, "I'd pay to see. Can you give him a black eye, too?"


	2. 04 June 2019

**04 June 2019**

_**Prompt: **__Unveil_

_**Fandom: **__Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon_

_**Character/Pairing:**__ Mamoru, Shitennou; Mamoru & Shitennou, Mamoru/Usagi_

_**Rating:**__ K+ / PG / All Ages_

"All right," Mamoru said, looking around at the serious faces surrounding him (yes, even Zane). "Give me your best ideas."

"Grand romantic gesture!" Zane shouted not half a second later, nearly leaping from his seat. Nate slapped the back of his head.

"_Obviously_, but what he's looking for is what _kind_ of 'grand romantic gesture'_,_" he chided. Zane scowled in reply, and Mamoru wondered – briefly, for the thousandth time – if asking them for help with ideas on how to propose to Usagi was the best course of action. His men had been an excellent source of counsel over the years, and there was no one he trusted more.

…buuuuut they were also the ones who, under Beryl's control, thought the _Unicorn Frappe_ was a great way to steal energy.

Ok. Maybe he was just desperate.

"Why don't you just ask her?" Kassim asked, and the look he gave his general spoke volumes.

"Kas, think about Minako and ask me that again with a straight face," he said. If he didn't know better, he would have sworn he saw Kassim blush. Zane cackled beside him.

"Please, Kas, _just ask_ Mina to marry you," he wheezed. "I only got away with that because any grand romantic gestures would have made Ami break out in hives!"

"You hid the ring in a love note in a limited release of her favorite book in a very public book store," Joji piped up. Zane turned his scowl on him. "She _did_ break out in hives, you've proposed _twice_ since then, and she _still_ hasn't said yes."

"Well, I'd like to see you do better!" Zane snapped. Joji grinned and looked at Mamoru.

"Usagi would appreciate the public display, so what about a nice dinner where you hide the ring in the dessert?" he asked. Mamoru didn't look convinced.

"Usagi would inhale the dessert, choke on the ring, and their engagement night would be spent in the emergency room," Nate drawled. Joji rolled his eyes. "Where Mamoru would undoubtedly be pulled away because the hospital is always understaffed. Nobody wants to spend their engagement night at work, Jo."

"Ok, so don't _hide_ the ring, but it's Usagi! She'd love a fancy dinner!" he huffed.

"I come to you lot for ideas, and the best you've got is feed her," Mamoru sighed, leaning back in his chair and folding his arms over his chest. "Well, at least none of you can say you don't know her."

"What about a trip to the botanical gardens?" Kassim asked. They all paused to look at him. "Mina showed me a flyer the other day. The new rose garden is in bloom. I'm sure Usagi would love that."

"Oh, oh, yes!" Zane cried, bouncing again.

"I'll have what he's having," Joji snorted into his cup, though they all chose to ignore him (mostly all – Zane tossed the end of his biscotti at him).

"Bring a rose along, and hide the ring there! It's perfect for you two!" Zane continued, undeterred. Mamoru smiled. He loved the idea.

"That's actually pretty brilliant," he said, "and Usako loves the terrace café at the gardens. I could take her to lunch after."

"Because Usagi and food," Joji laughed, and this time they all threw something at him. "Oi!"

"All right. I'll take her this weekend," Mamoru said with a wide grin. "The rose gardens. You're right, Zane. It's perfect."


	3. 15 June 2019

**15 June 2019**

_**Prompt: **__Relations_

_**Fandom: **__Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon_

_**Character/Pairing:**__ Nephrite/Kino Makoto, Jones Family (OCs)_

_**Rating:**__ K+ / PG / All Ages (One word, people.)_

_**Notes:**__ I have a WIP that's not posted yet where Nate and Makoto break up a month before Nate's family reunion, but – thinking they'll be back together before the reunion – Nate never tells his family. This started as an alternate to that, where they didn't break up and Nate Has So Much Family. (I see your Maxfield Stanton and raise you a Shit Ton of OCs. I think my original HC had Nate's mum being the youngest of nine? xD )_

"Full disclosure?" Makoto asked, glancing up from their itinerary to his warm brown eyes. He had no right to look as reassuring as he did.

"Full disclosure," he affirmed, nodding. She took a deep breath and picked up her plane ticket.

"I don't know what's scaring me more," she confessed. "The fact that in two weeks I'll be crossing the Pacific on a plane or that I'm doing it to meet five million Joneses."

His laugh was loud and deep and did wonders to melt away (some) of her ever-mounting anxiety. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close.

"My love," he said, kissing her temple, "you'll do fine."

– V –

Now, Makoto wasn't a _complete_ stranger to the Jones clan. Tribe. Clan. Honestly, she wasn't sure. Zane always referred to his family as the Murphy Clan, but Nate tended to use the terms interchangeably, or referred to a _Navajo Tribe_ but a _Jones Clan_. She just knew he had a Freaking Huge Family.

She had met his mother and father when they'd surprised him for his birthday last year. Both had been warm and welcoming, and his mother had _adored_ her. His father had been a bit more reserved, clinging to the hope Nate would return to Arizona and not really caring if he brought a Japanese bride to settle down with him (as long as the settling wasn't done in Japan). His mother, however, hadn't cared where they lived as long as they brought the grandbabies to see her. Nate and Makoto had been together two months at this point, and while neither held any uncertainty towards the longevity of their relationship Makoto had still grown flustered at the comment. His mother had just laughed, patted her hand, and claimed, "A mother knows."

She had met Rose and Shari six months back, when Rose had come to Japan to do research on a Sailor V musical she was working on with their other sister Willow. Willow had stayed in Arizona to manage their playhouse, but Makoto had briefly met her on Facetime one night during the visit. Rose's husband Sharon had had a family matter in Brooklyn that had prevented him from joining his family, but Nate had been quick to tell her she really wasn't missing anything there. Shari was the only good thing to come of Rose's union with the "Semi-Jewish Hipster Ass", and the little girl and Makoto had quickly become inseparable.

She had not officially met Clay, his eldest brother, yet, though she had glanced him in the background of the video call between Nate and his niece Spencer on her ninth birthday. She had also never met Tulley, who had been on some "hippie wilderness trek" since he had dropped out of Berkley two years prior. According to Nate Tulley had been freelancing his way through most of southern California and western Arizona, picking up odd jobs here and there when he was strapped for cash. He had said he'd be at the reunion, though, and his family was eager to see him again. Nate claimed he was just eager to see if he'd lost the bad dye job yet.

"Look at my complexion, Makoto," he had said, deadly serious. "No Jones is meant to be blond."

And that, she thought with a gulp, was just the _immediate_ family!


	4. 16 June 2019

**16 June 2019**

_**Prompt: **__Fortitude_

_**Fandom: **__Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon_

_**Character/Pairing:**__ Nephrite/Kino Makoto, Jones Family (OCs)_

_**Rating:**__ K / G / All Ages_

_**Notes:**__ Carrying off June 15's entry. I HC that Makoto desperately wants family but, when actually confronted with Family, doesn't know how to do it (she's gonna be a great mum, though)._

Makoto wouldn't say that she was freaking out, but…yeah, she was totally _freaking out_.

There were just so many of them! Nate had said he had a large family, but somehow she just hadn't fully grasped that before actually _seeing_ them. The old ranch was _crawling_ with Joneses, and they were still arriving! It was all just _too much_.

She was an orphan. Her parents – both only children, both with dead parents of their own – had died when she was young. She'd grown up in the system. And yes, when she'd met Usagi and the girls she had gained a new family, but there were five of them – fourteen on a good day, counting the cats. Eighteen, once the guys had found them. She wasn't used to…_this_.

She had always craved a large family, but now she was terrified she just wasn't emotionally equipped for one.

It had started as soon as they'd hit the airport. Willow, Rose, and Shari had been waiting for them, and Shari had shrieked with joy before running past her uncle to crash into Makoto's legs. Shari had insisted she sit in the back of Willow's Prius with her and her mom, and the little girl had talked her ear off until they'd arrived at the ranch.

"C'mon, Auntie Mako, you _have_ to meet amá sání!" Shari had cried, pulling her from the car and dragging her inside while Nate reunited with his brothers (Tulley hadn't lost the dye job, she'd barely noted, and both Jones men were giving him untold levels of hell for it). Makoto still wasn't sure how Shari had gotten herself out of the booster seat Rose had strapped her into. She tugged her along until they were in the kitchen, which was overflowing with familiar women Makoto didn't recognize.

"Makoto!" Nate's mother cried, pushing past two other women to crush her in a hug. "You made it! Ruby, Gina, this is my Nayati's girl!"

"Ain't she a looker!" a large women with a bad blonde perm laughed. Makoto mentally noted that she must have married in, as – unlike Tulley – she _did_ have the complexion to pull off the blonde. "C'mere, girl – welcome t' the family!"

Makoto was passed around from arm to arm, crushed in a sea of hugs and names she knew she'd never remember, before they settled her before an old woman with a long, fraying, gray braid. She was hunched in a wheelchair, but despite her frail appearance seemed to possess an inner strength equal to any in the room. She beckoned Makoto closer and clasped her face between weathered palms. A thumb brushed beneath her eye before the woman smiled and pulled her close in a consuming hug that (painfully, perfectly) reminded Makoto of her own mother. She said something in a language Makoto didn't understand but made the other women cheer and laugh. When she was pulled back into Nate's familiar, welcome embrace, she was crying and didn't know why.

"She likes you," Nate whispered in her ear, then to the others: "All right, everyone, as glad as we are to see you give her some space! It was a long flight, and Makoto hates planes!"

Ruby – or was it Gina? – made a comment about Nate hogging her when they'd only get to know her for a week, but it was all in good humor and he was soon escorting her to the room she'd be sharing with Rose, Willow, and three – five?! – of his female cousins.

"Breathe," he said firmly – kindly – before kissing her forehead. "Just breathe, Mako."

"I can't do this, Nate," she gasped. "Oh my God. There were fifty people in that kitchen."

"Twelve, tops," he said. He paused, remembering that Shari had run through with Spencer and Abigail when he found them. "Maybe fifteen. Twenty. Not fifty, though."


	5. 19 June 2019

**19 June 2019**

_**Prompt: **__Bright_

_**Fandom: **__Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon_

_**Character/Pairing:**__ Zoisite (Zane Murphy)/Mizuno Ami_

_**Rating:**__ T / PG-13 / Teen_

_**Notes:**__ Nineteen days into the month, quite a few being in this fandom, and I'm only JUST doing a purely A/Z-centric one. Be proud. Zane's been raising quite the fuss. He deserves what he gets here for it, really._

In less than five seconds, the curtains were yanked away from the window and sunlight flooded the room. Not soft, early morning sunlight, either. Bright, glaring, _my-God-how-many-drinks-did-I-have-anyway?_ sunlight. It was only partially shielded by the girl standing before the sofa with her hands on her hips, and as she wasn't the tallest thing out there (perfect, mind, but still _short_) she didn't really do that great a job blocking the light.

"Ami, I love you, but please God close the damn curtain!" was what he _meant_ to say. What came out instead was an unintelligible, gurgling groan. His tongue was fuzzy and felt two sizes too thick. What the hell had been in those drinks?

"Up," she said with the weight of an air raid. "Now."

"Grrrrrggghhhuuugggghhaaarr," was his most intelligent reply.

"We're supposed to meet my parents in half an hour," she said. The bombing continued. He chucked a pillow at her without looking to see if he'd miss. From the shattering sound and the hissed intake of breath, he did. "Zane!"

He flipped her off.

"If you don't get your lazy ass up and start getting ready _right now_ you'll be sleeping on this couch for a _month_," she said. That actually didn't sound too bad, provided the month start immediately and he could keep his head under the pillow.

"Fine by me," he said, and maybe his voice sounded like sandpaper but at least actual words came out that time.

"With no sex," she continued, "and make that _two_ months."

"Fucking Christ, girseach!" he cried, throwing the other pillow at her. He immediately recognized his mistake as the light stabbed at his eyes, and he burrowed his head beneath his arms. Ami caught the pillow easily. "Have you no sympathy for the infirm?!"

"Not when they're _infirm_ because of their own stupid choices," she said, fluffing the pillow a bit aggressively. "Specifically, getting…how have you put it before? _Shit-faced_ the night before you were supposed to meet my parents."

"I've met your mam," he tried – poorly – to defend himself.

"But you haven't met my father," she said. "He's only in town for a few days, and it's the first time he's been back in three years."

"Christ, Ami, you don't even _like_ your father!" he whined. If he'd bothered to look, he would have seen her face had flushed a furious red.

"That's beside the point!" she snapped. "This lunch was still important to me, you still knew it, and you _still_ got drunk! God-fucking-dammit, Murphy!"

Woah.

Ok, she was _pissed_.

And not in the fun way.

"I…" he started. Paused. Swallowed – thickly, because his tongue still felt two sizes too big.

"You're sorry?" she guessed, glibly. He nodded, his head hanging almost between his knees. He didn't remember sitting up. He was also ninety percent sure he was gonna be sick.

"Yeah," she sighed. "Me, too."

The slamming door was an atom bomb in his mind.

And the fucking curtains were _still_ open.


	6. 24 June 2019

**24 June 2019**

_**Prompt: **__Know Joy_

_**Fandom: **__Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon_

_**Character/Pairing:**__ Zoisite/Mizuno Ami_

_**Rating:**__ T / PG-13 / Teen_

_**Notes:**__ Technically I guess this could pair with June 19, but really it could just be Zane. Cole Swindell's "Dozen Roses & A Six-Pack" is such a Zane/Ami song in my mind, even while Zane is also Flogging Molly's "Fuck You I'm Drunk" ("Pour my beer down the sink – I've got more in the trunk!"). I meant for this to have a happier ending (a la theme) and ran out of time._

"These are _quite_ lovely," the salesgirl said in what was probably her most persuasive voice. It just felt oily to Zane, especially when paired with the sleazy – conniving – smile. She thrust a bouquet of blood red roses under his nose. The pungent aroma turned his stomach. "Sure to turn the favor of _any_ jilted lover."

He wondered what it was about him that screamed, "Help, Code Red, I fucked up!"

"Nah, thanks," he said, turning away from the girl. Roses were Mamoru's thing, anyway. Not his. Receiving them was Usagi's, not hers. His eyes lit on a beautiful display of water lilies. The blooms were yellow and lavender, dark at the edges and tapering to a white center. They were perfect. "What about those?"

"The lilies? That's a special seasonal display – _very_ pricey," the girl said, and her voice let Zane know just what she thought about his chances of affording them. He wondered what it was about him that screamed that, too. "Are you certain you wouldn't prefer the roses?"

"She's not a roses kind of girl," he said. He handed her the card with a sense of authority (and maybe a _little_ superiority). She didn't have to know he wasn't Nayati Jones, and he'd pay Nate back later. Besides, Nate couldn't fault him a little petty theft done in the name of love. "I'll take a dozen."

– V –

The flat was empty when he got home. It had been empty for two days now.

He wasn't worried.

Her overnight bag was gone, but the book she was in the middle of was still on the bedside table. She couldn't be _Gone_ if she left her book. Ami wouldn't do that.

…the beer chilling in the fridge was just a precautionary measure. And because he liked beer. Even though beer was technically what had started this mess, among other spirits.

He groaned and sank onto the couch that had been his bed for two weeks now (she'd promised two months – his balls were already turning blue). He used to love that couch. He'd been the one to pick it out. He was starting to think he'd be glad to never see it again.

He was sorely tempted to grab a beer. Or a shot. Christ, he needed a drink. The thought of Ami walking in on him with a drink in his hand was the only thing that stopped him.

So maybe it was better that, when she did walk in, she found him pouring the beer down the sink.

"…what are you doing?" she asked, dropping her bag on the floor. He gave her a wry little smile.

"I believe it's called a 'grand gesture'," he said. He tossed the last empty can into the recycling bin. "Picked 'em up because I was scared you weren't coming home. Picked up the flowers because I hoped you would."

"But you're pouring them out," she said. She hadn't moved further than the doorway into the kitchen.

"Yep," he said. He popped the _p_ for good measure. "Thought you'd leave again if you saw 'em, too, sooo…"

"Zane, you idiot," she sighed. He jumped when he felt her press against him, her arms holding him tight. He hadn't seen or heard her move. "You big, dumb idiot."


End file.
